What is a financial statement? What documents do I have to give my partner?
A is a court form where you set out your financial information. It includes information about your income, expenses, , and . This is called financial disclosure.
There are Family Law Rules that tell you what is needed at every step in a court case. Rule 13: Financial disclosure tells you about financial statements and what supporting documents you need to give your partner and the court.
It's very important that you and your partner share complete and honest information. You have to do this even if you do not have a court case and are trying to agree on , , or .
If you're not in court, you can do this in many ways. For example, you can use a computer spreadsheet or a handwritten document that has all your financial information.
Or, you can fill out one of the financial statement court forms. Many people use these forms even if they don't go to court. The forms can be useful because they show you what the court looks at when deciding your support and property issues.
If you're in court, you must use one of the financial statement court forms. Use Form 13: Financial Statement (Support Claims) if you or your partner are asking only for child support, spousal support, or both child support and spousal support.
Use Form 13.1: Financial Statement (Property and Support Claims) if you or your partner are asking to divide property and debts. You may also be asking for support.
Financial statements must be sworn or affirmed. This means the person signing it is promising that the information in it is true. It is against the law to not tell the truth when swearing or affirming an affidavit.
File your forms with the court
You can now most family law forms and supporting documents online. For more information on how to file online, read the question How do I file court forms for my family law case online? If you're not allowed to, or don't want to file your documents online, then you have to file them in person at the courthouse. You do this at the court counter, with the help of the .
But before you file your documents, you must remove all financial account numbers and personal identifying information. You do this by blacking out information like:
- social insurance numbers
- bank account numbers
- credit card numbers
- account numbers for mortgages, lines of credit, and other loans
You must keep the original documents that shows this information. A judge might ask to see it.
